FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 218681. September 14, 2015.]
FRANKIE H. LOCSIN, petitioner, vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedSeptember 14, 2015 which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 218681 — FRANKIE H. LOCSIN, petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 to reverse and set aside the Decision 1 of the Sandiganbayan dated 23 February 2015 and the Resolution 2 dated 8 June 2015 in Criminal Case No. SB-08-CRM-0381, which found petitioner Frankie H. Locsin (Mayor Locsin), in the discharge of his official function as municipal mayor of Janiuay, Iloilo, guilty of violation of Sec. 3 (e) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 3019, otherwise known as Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (R.A. No. 3019), for allegedly awarding the contract for the purchase of medicines to Rodrigo S. Villanueva (Villanueva), President and General Manager of AM Europharma Corporation (Europharma) and owner of Mallix Drug Center (Mallix Drug) with deliberate intent, manifest partiality and evident bad faith, thereby giving the latter unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference.
As borne by the records, a Memorandum of Agreement was entered into by the Center for Health Development for Western Visayas of the Department of Health (DOH) represented by DOH Regional Director Dr. Lydia S. Depara-Ramos and the Municipal Government of Janiuay, Iloilo, represented by Mayor Locsin, Janiuay, Iloilo, for the procurement of medical supplies amounting to not more than P15,000,000.00 to be distributed to the different towns in Iloilo City as part of the Rescue and Emergency Disaster Program of Senator Vicente S. Sotto III. A resolution was issued by the Sangguniang Bayan of Janiuay authorizing Mayor Locsin to enter the said agreement.
To facilitate the implementation of the said agreement, the Office of the Mayor of Janiuay caused the necessary publication of an Invitation to Bid the medical supplies. In response, three bidders namely Europharma, Mallix Drug and Phil. Pharmawealth, Inc. (Pharmawealth) signified their intention to participate in the bidding. The bidding was scheduled to be conducted on 12 January 2001 but was rescheduled to 15 January 2001 due to the absence of the Provincial Auditor.
On the day of the bidding on 15 January 2001, the Committee on Awards composed of Ricardo S. Minurtio, the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer and representative of the Office of the Mayor, Municipal Accountant Carlos C. Moreno, Municipal Budget Officer Ramon Tirador and Municipal Treasurer Luzviminda P. Figueroa, all public officers, proceeded with the opening of the bids despite the absence of the Provincial Auditor. Thereafter, the Committee recommended the award of the contract to Europharma and Mallix Drug, in the amount of P13,191,223.00 and P1,744,926.00, respectively. Thereafter, Mayor Locsin approved the award and purchase orders were issued to Europharma and Mallix Drug. 3
On the following day, 16 January 2001, the medicines were delivered and were received by Mayor Locsin. On the next day, 17 January 2001, the municipality issued two (2) Land Bank of the Philippines checks in favor of Europharma and Mallix Drug as payment of the medicines delivered. 4
On post-audit, the Provincial Auditor issued a notice of suspension and order to Mayor Locsin to submit justification on the alleged failure of the municipality to notify the Office of the Provincial Auditor of the bidding, require the winning bidder to submit a performance bond and finally, to explain why Europharma and Mallix Drug were allowed to bid despite the fact that both companies were owned by Villanueva. 5
Meanwhile, on 29 May 2002, Dr. Ferjenel O. Biron (Dr. Biron), President of Pharmawealth, issued a notice to the public that Pharmawealth did not participate in the said 15 January 2001 bidding. 6 cDHAES
On 28 June 2002, the Committee submitted its reply-letter and contended that it did notify the Office of the Provincial Auditor but the latter did not send any of its representatives on the scheduled date. As to the 10% performance bond, it reasoned that there was no necessity to require it since the supplies were already delivered within the 10-day period. Finally, it did not see any reason to disqualify Europharma and Mallix Drug since Europharma was a corporation with distinct personality, while Mallix Drug was a sole proprietorship owned by Villanueva. 7
Due to the disclaimer of Dr. Biron, the Commission on Audit (COA) conducted an investigation and discovered that Pharmawealth was indeed not a participant in the bidding and Europharma is a corporation 99% owned by Villanueva. From the foregoing facts, COA found that the bidding violated Section 356 of the Local Government Code which requires that the acquisition of supplies and property by local government unit must be done through a competitive bidding. Since only two bidders participated, which were coincidentally owned by the same person, no competitive bidding was complied with. 8
In addition, records show that the accreditation of Europharma at the time of the bidding was suspended by the DOH.
Due to the circumstances tainting the legality of the bidding, the matter was referred to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for investigation. After preliminary investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable case against the municipal officers who conducted the bidding including Mayor Locsin for violation of Section 3 (e) of R.A. No. 3019. 9
The Amended Information reads:
That on or about January 15, 2001, and for sometime prior to subsequent thereto in the Municipality of Janiuay, Province of Iloilo, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, above-named accused FRANKIE H. LOCSIN, CARLOS C. MORENO, JR., RAMON T. TIRADOR, LUZVIMINDA P. FIGUEROA and RICARDO S. MINURTIO, all public officers, being then the Municipal Mayor, Municipal Accountant, Municipal Budget Officer, Municipal Treasurer and Representative of the Municipal Mayor in the Committee on Awards, respectively, all of the Municipality of Janiuay, Iloilo, in such capacity and committing the offense in relation to and in the discharge of their official and administrative functions, conniving, confederating together and mutually helping with each other and with accusedRODRIGO S. VILLANUEVA, President and General Manager of AM-Europharma Corporation, a private individual, with deliberate intent, manifest partiality and evident bad faith, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and criminally award the contract for the purchase of medicines and in fact bought such medicines in the amount of THIRTEEN MILLION ONE HUNDRED NINETY-ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED TWENTY THREE PESOS ([P]13,191,223.00), in Philippine Currency, from AM-Europharma Corporation, notwithstanding the fact that on said date the accreditation of AM-Europharma Corporation was still suspended by the Department of Health (DOH), hence should have been disqualified to participate in the bidding, that AM-Europharma Corporation is owned and controlled by said accused Rodrigo S. Villanueva, who at the same time is the sole proprietor of Mallix Drug Center, a supplier who was awarded the contract for the supply of medicines in the amount of ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX PESOS ([P]1,744,926.00) in the same public bidding, and that the public bidding was conducted without the presence of any provincial or municipal auditor or its duly authorized representative, thus accused public officers, in the course of the performance of their official/administrative functions, had given AM-Europharma Corporation/accused Rodrigo S. Villanueva unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference in the discharge of their official/administrative functions to the detriment and prejudice of the other companies and public service.
CONTRARY TO LAW. 10
Upon arraignment, Mayor Locsin, together with the other accused municipal officers, pleaded not guilty to the offense charged. ASEcHI
On 23 February 2015, the Sandiganbayan found the accused public officers guilty of the offense charged and sentenced them to suffer the indeterminate penalty of six (6) years and one (1) month as minimum to ten (10) years as maximum and to suffer perpetual disqualification from public service. 11 In a Resolution dated 8 June 2015, the motion for reconsideration was denied by the Sandiganbayan. 12
Before this Court, petitioner Mayor Locsin argues that the Sandiganbayan committed an error in convicting him of Section 3 (e) of the R.A. No. 3019 since the elements of the offense were not present to find him guilty thereof.
The petition is denied.
All the elements of Section 3 of R.A. No. 3019 to convict Mayor Locsin for the offense charged concur in this case:
1. The accused is a public officer discharging administrative, judicial or official functions;
2. That he must have acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence; and
3. That his action has caused any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions.
As to the first element, it is indisputable that Mayor Locsin was a public officer discharging his public function when he participated in the bidding procedure. As defined under Section 2 of R.A. No. 3019, the term "public officer" includes elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or temporary, whether in the classified or unclassified or exempt service receiving compensation, even nominal, from the government. As evidenced by Resolution No. 318-2000 of the Sangguniang Bayan of Janiuay, Iloilo, Mayor Locsin entered and signed the Memorandum of Agreement for and in behalf of the Municipality of Janiuay and the Province of Iloilo in general.
As to the contention that Mayor Locsin entered the agreement in his "borrowed capacity" as the President of the League of Municipalities of the Iloilo Province and not as the Mayor of Janiuay, the same is also denied. It would be absurd, to the point of defeating the spirit of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, if a mayor who is likewise the President of the League of Municipalities, would be allowed to be exempted from the definition of being a public officer due to a mere invocation that he is not acting as a mayor but as a league officer. Simply put, all elective officials who are acting as league officers would invoke their latter status to evade the ambit of R.A. No. 3019.
Second, Mayor Locsin acted with manifest partiality and evident bad faith in the discharge of his function. Partiality is synonymous with bias which excites a disposition to see and report matters as they are wished for rather than as they are. Bad faith, on the other hand, does not simply connote bad judgment or negligence; it imputes a dishonest purpose or some moral obliquity and conscious doing of a wrong; a breach of sworn duty through some motive or intent or ill will; it partakes of the nature of fraud. 13
In this case, manifest partiality and evident bad faith were evident on the part of Mayor Locsin when despite the disqualification of Europharma due to lack of accreditation from the DOH, he proceeded with the award of the bid to Europharma and Mallix Drug upon the recommendation of the Committee. Further, his contentions that he was without any knowledge that Europharma was disqualified and that Pharmawealth did not actually participate are unacceptable. Mayor Locsin was authorized by virtue of the MOA and Resolution to lead the bidding process. Thus, it is incumbent upon him to check and authenticate the attached documents and authority of the companies intending to bid the multi-million contract. A mere review of the documents submitted before the actual bidding process easily reveals that no competitive bidding was made since two out of the three bidders bore the same business address, hinting an idea that the two are related.
Lastly, from the foregoing transaction, it is apparent that Mayor Locsin, in the discharge of his official functions, gave unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference to the two companies owned by Villanueva, despite the fact the Villanueva circumvented the procurement process.
WHEREFORE, the instant petition is DENIED. The Decision and Resolution of the Sandiganbayan in Criminal Case No. SB-08-CRM-0381, dated 23 February 2015 and 8 June 2015, respectively, are hereby AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED." ITAaHc
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) EDGAR O. ARICHETADivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Penned by Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Rodolfo A. Ponferrada with Associate Justices Efren N. De La Cruz and Rafael R. Lagos concurring; rollo, pp. 33-65.
2. Id. at 66-78.
3. Id. at 49.
4. Id. at 49-50.
5. Id. at 50.
6. Id. at 51.
7. Id. at 50-51.
8. Id. at 51-56.
9. Section 3. Corrupt practices of public officers. — In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful:
(e) Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence. This provision shall apply to officers and employees of offices or government corporations charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions.
10. Id. at 33-34.
11. Id. at 64.
12. Id. at 78.
13. Ambil, Jr. v. Sandiganbayan, 669 Phil. 32, 48 (2011), citing Sison v. People, 628 Phil. 573, 583 (2010).